Container having spring biased sliding closure



NW. 2%, WW J. M. LYON, JR 2,531,737

CONTAINER HAVING SPRING BIASED SLIDING CLOSURE Filed July 11. 1947 yea2/ 1 miliiilifiliiliumd,

Attorney Patented Nov. 28, 1950 CONTAINER. HAVING SPRING BIASED SLIDINGCLOSURE Joe M. Lyon, Jr., Los Angeles, Galifl, assignor by mesneassignments, to William Wilson, in-

glewood, Calif.

Application July 11, 1947,"Serial No.'760,310

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to containers, and has as its primaryobject the provision of a new and improved container having aspring-biased, sliding lid which snaps to open position when pressedwith sufficient force to overcome a releasable catch, and which isclosed by pressing the lid back to its closed position, against thepressure of the spring action.

Another object of the invention is to provide a container which isparticularly adapted for use as a cigarette case, and in that capacityserves to preserve the cigarettes from being crushed or broken, orcontaminated by dirt, lint, or cosmetics in a pocket or handbag.

A further object of the invention in connection with its use as acigarette case, is to provide a refillable container which is adapted toreceive the standard cigarette pack, and which provides a convenientmeans for dispensing the cigarettes singly or a few at a time by aone-handed operation, instead of requiring the use of both hands, as hasbeen necessary heretofore.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a container of thetype described which is attractive in appearance, compact and durable,and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detaileddescription of the preferred embodiment thereof, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings in which:

Figure Us a perspective view of a cigarette case embodying theprinciples of the invention, showing the lid in closed position;

Figure 2 is another View of the same, with the lid shown in openposition;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 33 in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a similar view, showing the lid in open position;

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 5-5 inFigure 3; and

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional view of a detail, taken along the line5-6 in Figure 2.

In the drawings, the container of the inven-r tion is designated in itsentirety by the reference numeral it and comprises a generallyrectangular case ll, open at the top end and having side walls is, 54,end walls i5, I6, and a bottom wall 17. The case Ii! may be made of anysuitable material such as metal, plastic, wood, or the like,

is proportioned to receive a pack 58 of cigarettes, which is insertedinto the case through the opening in the top end thereof, after tearingaway ways 2c is preferably, although not necessarily,

formed as "a raised "flange extending upwardly from the top edge of itsrespective side wall and forming a continuation of the inside surfacethereof. The top of the flange 'is rounded, and

its outer side is set back from the outside surface of the wall, so thatthe thickness of the flange is approximately one-half that of the wall.A groove 22 is cut into the outer side of the flange at the basethereof, leaving a web 23. At their front ends, the ways arestrengthened and reinforced by inwardly extending buttresses 26 whichare formed as extensions of the end wall H5. The rear end portions ofthe ways 20 are cut away fora short distance back from the walls is,forming a rearwardly facing shoulder at 24., and leaving a portion ofthe web 23 standing as a ridge 25 which extends back to the rear wall Itand along the edge of the latter.

The sliding lid 2! is a flat, rectangular plate having a pair oflaterally spaced grooves formed in the underside thereof, which receivethe ways 21 Each of the grooves an is enlarged in its upper portion toform a generally cylindrical chamber 3!, which receives a compressionspring 32. The springs 32are disposed within the spaces formed bycutting out sections of the ways 25, and each of them bears at one endagainst the shoulder 24 and at the other end against the end 33 of thechamber 3|. The springs 32 are compressed when the lid 2| is in theclosed position shown in Figures 1 and 3, and press against the lid,urging the same toward the open position shown in Figures 2 and l. Atthe front end of the lid 21, the grooves so are formed with enlargedrecesses 29 which receive the buttresses 26 when the lid is in itsclosed position.

The center portion of the underside of the lid 2! lying between thegrooves 30 is elevated to clear the lip 23, and the outer edges of thelid extend downwardly on the outsides of the ways 28 to meet the topedges of the walls It, M with inwardly turned flanges 34 which extendinto the groove 22 to secure the lid '21 to the case H. A transverselyextending lip 35 projects downwardly from the back end of the lid 2! tothe top edge of the end wall it, and this lip is engage able with thelip '26 on the case to limit move- 3 ment of the lid toward the left orclosed position.

The lid'Zl is releasably held in its closed position by means of a catchwhich is formed as a narrow, transversely extending lug 40 projectingdownwardly from the underside of the lid at the front end thereof,midway between the grooves 30. The lug 40 is engageable with a lip ll onthe top edge of the front end wall I5 between the buttresses 26, and isadapted to ride up over the said lip and drop into the holding positionshown in Figure 3, when the lid is pushed all the way to closedposition. A shallow, semi-circular finger recess 42 is formed in theupper portion of the front end Wall I5, and this recess leaves the endof the lid 2! projecting or overhanging slightly so that it can beengaged by the finger, as shown in Figure 3, and pushed rearwardly asufficient distance to force the catch over the lip 4| and therebyrelease the lid 2! so that the springs 52 are permitted to snap the lidback to open position. 1

The rearward travel of the lid 21 is limited by a limit stop 55 which isspaced longitudinally from the catch 40 and projects downwardly from theunderside of the lid. The limit stop 45 is likewise formed as a narrow,transversely extending lug which is engageable with the lip 25 on thetop edge of the rear end wall 5 0 to stop the lid at the open positionshown in Figures 2 and 4. When it is desired to remove an empty pack andreplace the same with a full one, the lid 2! can be removed altogetherby forcing it rearwardly, causing the lug Q5 and catch 40 to ride upover the lip 26. When the case has been filled, the lid 2! is replacedby forcing the same back into position, causing the lugs 40 and 45 toride up over the lip 26.

The operation of the container is believed to be clear from theforegoing description. The case is opened by pressing with the thumb orfinger against the front edge of the lid 2!, forcing the catch 40 overits lip 4! and releasing the lid so that it can be snapped back to openposition by the springs 32. To close the case, the lid 2| is pressedforwardly by thumb or finger, against the pressure of the springs 32,until the catch 40 is forced up over the lip 4! and dropped down intoholding position.

While I have shown and described in considerable detail what I believeto be the preferred form of my invention, it is to be understood thatsuch details are not restrictive of theinvention, but that variouschanges may be made in the shape and arrangement of the several partswithout departing from the scope of the broader claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. A container comprising a case having an opening provided therein,parallel ways extending along two opposite sides of said opening, a lidhaving a pair of laterally spaced grooves provided in the undersidethereof to receive said ways, whereby said lid is slidably supported onsaid ways for movement between a closed position in which said openingis covered, and an open position wherein said opening is exposed, saidways being cut away at one end to form a shoulder, a pair of compressionsprings disposed within said grooves, each of said springs bearing atone end against said shoulder and at the other end against the end ofsaid groove so as to urge said lid toward the open position, a catch onsaid lid engageable with said case for relea a y holding said lid insaid closed position against the pressure of said springs, said catchbeing yieldable under finger pressure applied to said lid in thedirection to open the same, thereby releasing said lid and allowing thesame to be moved toward the open position by said springs, and limitstop means for stopping said lid at said open position.

2. A container comprising a case having an opening provided therein,parallel ways extending along two opposite sides of said opening, a lidhaving a pair of laterally spaced grooves provided in the undersidethereof to receive said ways, whereby said lid is slidably supported onsaid ways for movement between a closed position in which said openingis covered, and an open position wherein said opening is exposed, saidways being cut away at one end to form a shoulder, a pair of compressionsprings disposed within said grooves, each of said springs bearing atone end against said shoulder and at the other end against the end ofsaid groove, a catch projecting downwardly from the underside of saidlid and engageable with a lip on said case for releasably holding saidlid in said closed position against the pressure of said springs, saidcatch being yieldable to release said lid when pressure is applied tothe latter in the direction to open the same, and a limit stop lugspaced longitudinally from said catch and projecting downwardly from theunderside of said lid, said lug being engageable with another lip onsaid case to stop said lid at said open position.

3. A container comprising a rectangular case open at one end, parallelways extending along two opposite side edges of said open end, a lidhaving a pair of laterally spaced grooves provided in the undersidethereof to receive said ways, said lid being slidable on said waysbetween a closed position entirely covering said open end, and an openposition partially exposing said open end, a pair of compression springsdisposed within said grooves, each of said springs bearing at one endagainst the end of its respective groove, and

- at the other end against the end of said way, a

recess formed in one end wall of said case adjacent the edge of saidlid, a catch projecting downwardly from the underside of said lid andengageable with a lip on said one end wall of the case for releasablyholding said lid. in said closed position against the pressure of saidsprings, said catch being yieldable to release said lid when pressure isapplied to the latter in the direction to open the same, a limit stoplug spaced longitudinally from said catch and projecting downwardly fromthe underside of said lid, said lug being engageable with a lip on theother end wall of said case to stop said lid at said open position.

JOE M. LYON, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 685,092 Bellingham Oct. 22, 19011,313,003 Meklemburg Aug. 12, 1919 1,860,637 Von Meister May 31, 19321,962,860 Duell et a1. June 12, 1934 2,313,428 Glenn Mar. 9, 19432,378,003 Duell June 12, 1945

